Cezanne was born in Aix en Provence, France in 1839. He did not allow much of his work to be exhibited during his lifetime, and his style was somewhat different from the other Impressionists. Much of his work, especially early in his career, depicted bizarre, dark, and even violent themes, and it is believed that this was a result of his unhappy marriage. In fact, one of Cezanne's paintings on display here at the Art Institute of Chicago is a portrait of Madame Cezanne, his wife, and it is a tellingly harsh depiction.

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